FIC: The Pace of Nature (1/6)
Title: The Pace of Nature (Chapter 1/6)
Author: weasleytook
Spoilers: It's all vagued up!
Pairing: Sheldon/Penny
Rating/Warnings: This chapter is rather PG-13, but this fic is NC-17 from Chapter 2 onwards.
Word Count: 1600
Disclaimer: I don't own Sheldon, Penny or The Big Bang Theory. If this fic were real, the show would be on HBO, not CBS. ;)
Summary: You can't get a guy like Sheldon Cooper into bed on the first date, or maybe not even the 50th, but Penny is biding her time.
A/N: I know I'm supposed to be posting the next chapter of "The Relationship Delineation" (and it is coming!), but uhm, plot bunnies are evil tools of the devil himself. Really. This one was going to be one long fic, but some of the sections were getting too lengthy, so CHAPTERS IT IS. Also... eeeeek, my smut writing muscle has been dormant for ages, but S/P ate my brain. I swear, I need a 12 step program.
5 hours, 37 minutes
Never has the idea of ‘Anything Can Happen’ Thursday been more accurate than on this particular Thursday.
Sheldon tells her they met 4 years, 9 months and 12 days ago. She didn’t ask for exact numbers even though she knew he would know them.
They’re alone in his apartment waiting for the others to return with Greek food when she casually asks how long they’ve known each other and that’s his response.
“Penny, why are you asking?”
She can hardly breathe and she feels like her head is swimming in Jello. Sheldon is standing at the kitchen island and she somehow finds the strength to take two steps towards him, placing her hand on his forearm. At first, she thinks she’s forgotten how to form words but then suddenly the dam bursts wide open.
“Because, when I touch you now, you never flinch anymore. When I booked that shampoo commercial last month, you hugged me without being forced to. Just totally spontaneous. And - and you only let go when Wolowitz made some disgusting remark and tried to cut in. I know I annoy you on an almost daily basis and you never give me a strike anymore. You’ve become the most important person in my life and - well -“
She hesitates and looks into his almost impossibly blue eyes. Sometimes he is easy for her to read, but right now, he just looks confused.
“And what does this have to do with the day we met?”
This wasn’t how she had planned for this happen. The truth was she had never had a plan. It was a Saturday over a month ago when she feels like she’s been hit in the head with a brick. She’s sitting on a dryer in the laundry room watching him fold his t-shirts when she realizes she could do this forever. In fact, she’d be happy to spend the rest of her life arguing with him, laughing with him and watching him do the most perfect load of laundry she’s ever seen every Saturday at 8:15. Every moment with Sheldon, she is exactly who she is, no lies and no pretense and that’s when she realizes she doesn’t want to know what a life without Sheldon would be like.
Penny spends the next month trying to figure out how to make him understand without frightening him into a corner that he’ll never come out of. There’s never a plan that satisfies her, it just happens.
She suddenly remembers he asked her a question but she’s just been staring blankly at him for a moment that feels like it’s stretched to infinity. Penny has never been more terrified or excited at the same time.
She lifts up on her toes and uses her free hand to reach behind his neck and pull him down to meet her. Lips crushed against lips, her body crushing into his. His lips are so much warmer and softer than she expected and when he starts kissing her back, it gives her a shiver of pleasure that runs from her spine to her toes. Part of her is shocked at how good it is, but part of her knew it would be all along. She pulls tightly in to him just to keep from melting into the floor.
His arm snakes around her waist and when she feels his long fingers spread on her back, it’s almost too much for her to bear. She breaks off the kiss and takes a ragged breath in. Penny expects him to let go of her, but he continues holding her close to his body.
“I asked you how long we’ve known each other because… Maybe we didn’t know it 4 years, 9 months and 12 days ago, but I think we were always meant to end up this way. It just… took a long time to figure that out.”
She expects him to stammer or for his face to start twitching any time now, but as usual, he bypasses her expectations. Sheldon weaves one hand into her blonde curls and pulls her in for another kiss. She lightly runs her tongue across his lower lip and he proves he’s a quick learner by parting his lips to grant her access. It’s better than good and he tastes so clean and sweet that she wants to catalogue every aspect of this moment so she will never forget it.
Penny thinks they might have stayed like that forever but they hear three sets of footsteps in the hallway along with Howard blathering on about something. They jump back from each other, not ready for anyone else to see what they now share.
Howard is still ranting when they come into the apartment carrying dinner, but he might as well be speaking another language to Penny. Her face feels like it is on fire and she can’t understand a word of it. She watches Sheldon reach into the refrigerator for a bottle of water, swiftly taking the cap off and downing the whole thing in 2 long swigs. The other three guys stop talking and just stare at him, with Leonard being the first to speak up.
“Uhh, Sheldon? Are you okay?”
Sheldon’s eyes dance towards Penny for just a second and then back to Leonard. Penny tenses up immediately, remembering how bad Sheldon is at lying and hopes he just keeps his answer simple.
“Yes. I’m… thirsty.”
That’s my genius, she thinks to herself, and can’t help but smile a little.
The rest of the night seems like any other night, at least to Howard, Raj and Leonard. There had always been electricity between her and Sheldon, but tonight it feels like the air is thicker than ever between them.
The middle seat on the sofa has become Penny’s seat and though no one else notices, things have changed. Each time she reaches across him for something on the table, the air around them seems to heat up. They watch movies with the guys, but Penny lets the edge of her knee rest against his leg and Sheldon lets her. When he stands to get a drink or use the bathroom, his fingers brush her arm. It takes all her strength to keep from jumping into his lap and finishing what they started earlier.
5 hours and 37 minutes after their first kiss, they are finally alone again. Raj and Howard leave when the movie ends and Leonard heads to bed because he has an early morning at work the next day. They are still in their spots on the couch when Penny puts her hand on his and shifts in her seat to look up at him. Sheldon is straight and stiff-backed against the couch, closing his eyes for a moment before turning his head to look at her.
“Penny. I don’t know how I am supposed to proceed now. This is very new for me.”
“I know, sweetie. But you have to admit, it was a long time coming. I’ve never met someone who makes me as crazy as you do.”
She makes lazy swirls on his upturned palm with the tips of her fingers and is relieved when his posture softens.
“I will admit that I’ve had feelings for you… for quite some time. But as the world of dating and romance are mysteries to me, I have had a hard time comprehending what those feelings are. Or what they mean. But I did know that our relationship was not at all like what I have with Leonard, Wolowitz or Koothrappali.”
Penny scrunches up her nose and grins at him. “I’m really glad to hear you haven’t been kissing any of those guys. Really glad. But don’t worry, you’ll figure it out. I mean, you’re a genius and I’m well… experienced… so we’ll figure it out together.”
He nods but looks at her with complete seriousness. “I can’t be like your other boyfriends, Penny, if that is indeed what I have become to you. I’m not like other men.”
Penny hates to laugh when he’s being serious but she can’t help the chuckle that comes out of her throat. “Oh honey, I know. There’s only one Sheldon Cooper. And those other guys? I don’t want them. I want you.”
“I do wish to continue with what has happened, but I have to ask for your patience. I need you to understand…”
She’s never seen him so pleading and vulnerable, and she realizes now exactly what he’s talking about. If this had been just another guy, she might have been dragging him to her bed already. But this was Sheldon and as much as she nudged him out of his
routine in other areas, this was going to take some time.
“I’ve waited 4 years, 9 months and 12 days just to kiss you. I’m not going anywhere, okay?”
Sheldon nods and she leans in to kiss him once more. It is soft and sweet as if she is letting him know that she is willing to move at whatever pace he needs to go. She ends it with a sigh and then, just because she can, runs her fingers through his hair making it messier than she has ever seen it.
“Good night, Sheldon.”
One more quick peck on the lips and she heads back to her own apartment. She doesn’t know how long she will have to wait, but she knows Sheldon will be worth it. She finally gets it now. When you know you’re with the right person, you can wait as long as you have to.
*
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” - Albert Einstein
Author: weasleytook
Spoilers: It's all vagued up!
Pairing: Sheldon/Penny
Rating/Warnings: This chapter is rather PG-13, but this fic is NC-17 from Chapter 2 onwards.
Word Count: 1600
Disclaimer: I don't own Sheldon, Penny or The Big Bang Theory. If this fic were real, the show would be on HBO, not CBS. ;)
Summary: You can't get a guy like Sheldon Cooper into bed on the first date, or maybe not even the 50th, but Penny is biding her time.
A/N: I know I'm supposed to be posting the next chapter of "The Relationship Delineation" (and it is coming!), but uhm, plot bunnies are evil tools of the devil himself. Really. This one was going to be one long fic, but some of the sections were getting too lengthy, so CHAPTERS IT IS. Also... eeeeek, my smut writing muscle has been dormant for ages, but S/P ate my brain. I swear, I need a 12 step program.
5 hours, 37 minutes
Never has the idea of ‘Anything Can Happen’ Thursday been more accurate than on this particular Thursday.
Sheldon tells her they met 4 years, 9 months and 12 days ago. She didn’t ask for exact numbers even though she knew he would know them.
They’re alone in his apartment waiting for the others to return with Greek food when she casually asks how long they’ve known each other and that’s his response.
“Penny, why are you asking?”
She can hardly breathe and she feels like her head is swimming in Jello. Sheldon is standing at the kitchen island and she somehow finds the strength to take two steps towards him, placing her hand on his forearm. At first, she thinks she’s forgotten how to form words but then suddenly the dam bursts wide open.
“Because, when I touch you now, you never flinch anymore. When I booked that shampoo commercial last month, you hugged me without being forced to. Just totally spontaneous. And - and you only let go when Wolowitz made some disgusting remark and tried to cut in. I know I annoy you on an almost daily basis and you never give me a strike anymore. You’ve become the most important person in my life and - well -“
She hesitates and looks into his almost impossibly blue eyes. Sometimes he is easy for her to read, but right now, he just looks confused.
“And what does this have to do with the day we met?”
This wasn’t how she had planned for this happen. The truth was she had never had a plan. It was a Saturday over a month ago when she feels like she’s been hit in the head with a brick. She’s sitting on a dryer in the laundry room watching him fold his t-shirts when she realizes she could do this forever. In fact, she’d be happy to spend the rest of her life arguing with him, laughing with him and watching him do the most perfect load of laundry she’s ever seen every Saturday at 8:15. Every moment with Sheldon, she is exactly who she is, no lies and no pretense and that’s when she realizes she doesn’t want to know what a life without Sheldon would be like.
Penny spends the next month trying to figure out how to make him understand without frightening him into a corner that he’ll never come out of. There’s never a plan that satisfies her, it just happens.
She suddenly remembers he asked her a question but she’s just been staring blankly at him for a moment that feels like it’s stretched to infinity. Penny has never been more terrified or excited at the same time.
She lifts up on her toes and uses her free hand to reach behind his neck and pull him down to meet her. Lips crushed against lips, her body crushing into his. His lips are so much warmer and softer than she expected and when he starts kissing her back, it gives her a shiver of pleasure that runs from her spine to her toes. Part of her is shocked at how good it is, but part of her knew it would be all along. She pulls tightly in to him just to keep from melting into the floor.
His arm snakes around her waist and when she feels his long fingers spread on her back, it’s almost too much for her to bear. She breaks off the kiss and takes a ragged breath in. Penny expects him to let go of her, but he continues holding her close to his body.
“I asked you how long we’ve known each other because… Maybe we didn’t know it 4 years, 9 months and 12 days ago, but I think we were always meant to end up this way. It just… took a long time to figure that out.”
She expects him to stammer or for his face to start twitching any time now, but as usual, he bypasses her expectations. Sheldon weaves one hand into her blonde curls and pulls her in for another kiss. She lightly runs her tongue across his lower lip and he proves he’s a quick learner by parting his lips to grant her access. It’s better than good and he tastes so clean and sweet that she wants to catalogue every aspect of this moment so she will never forget it.
Penny thinks they might have stayed like that forever but they hear three sets of footsteps in the hallway along with Howard blathering on about something. They jump back from each other, not ready for anyone else to see what they now share.
Howard is still ranting when they come into the apartment carrying dinner, but he might as well be speaking another language to Penny. Her face feels like it is on fire and she can’t understand a word of it. She watches Sheldon reach into the refrigerator for a bottle of water, swiftly taking the cap off and downing the whole thing in 2 long swigs. The other three guys stop talking and just stare at him, with Leonard being the first to speak up.
“Uhh, Sheldon? Are you okay?”
Sheldon’s eyes dance towards Penny for just a second and then back to Leonard. Penny tenses up immediately, remembering how bad Sheldon is at lying and hopes he just keeps his answer simple.
“Yes. I’m… thirsty.”
That’s my genius, she thinks to herself, and can’t help but smile a little.
The rest of the night seems like any other night, at least to Howard, Raj and Leonard. There had always been electricity between her and Sheldon, but tonight it feels like the air is thicker than ever between them.
The middle seat on the sofa has become Penny’s seat and though no one else notices, things have changed. Each time she reaches across him for something on the table, the air around them seems to heat up. They watch movies with the guys, but Penny lets the edge of her knee rest against his leg and Sheldon lets her. When he stands to get a drink or use the bathroom, his fingers brush her arm. It takes all her strength to keep from jumping into his lap and finishing what they started earlier.
5 hours and 37 minutes after their first kiss, they are finally alone again. Raj and Howard leave when the movie ends and Leonard heads to bed because he has an early morning at work the next day. They are still in their spots on the couch when Penny puts her hand on his and shifts in her seat to look up at him. Sheldon is straight and stiff-backed against the couch, closing his eyes for a moment before turning his head to look at her.
“Penny. I don’t know how I am supposed to proceed now. This is very new for me.”
“I know, sweetie. But you have to admit, it was a long time coming. I’ve never met someone who makes me as crazy as you do.”
She makes lazy swirls on his upturned palm with the tips of her fingers and is relieved when his posture softens.
“I will admit that I’ve had feelings for you… for quite some time. But as the world of dating and romance are mysteries to me, I have had a hard time comprehending what those feelings are. Or what they mean. But I did know that our relationship was not at all like what I have with Leonard, Wolowitz or Koothrappali.”
Penny scrunches up her nose and grins at him. “I’m really glad to hear you haven’t been kissing any of those guys. Really glad. But don’t worry, you’ll figure it out. I mean, you’re a genius and I’m well… experienced… so we’ll figure it out together.”
He nods but looks at her with complete seriousness. “I can’t be like your other boyfriends, Penny, if that is indeed what I have become to you. I’m not like other men.”
Penny hates to laugh when he’s being serious but she can’t help the chuckle that comes out of her throat. “Oh honey, I know. There’s only one Sheldon Cooper. And those other guys? I don’t want them. I want you.”
“I do wish to continue with what has happened, but I have to ask for your patience. I need you to understand…”
She’s never seen him so pleading and vulnerable, and she realizes now exactly what he’s talking about. If this had been just another guy, she might have been dragging him to her bed already. But this was Sheldon and as much as she nudged him out of his
routine in other areas, this was going to take some time.
“I’ve waited 4 years, 9 months and 12 days just to kiss you. I’m not going anywhere, okay?”
Sheldon nods and she leans in to kiss him once more. It is soft and sweet as if she is letting him know that she is willing to move at whatever pace he needs to go. She ends it with a sigh and then, just because she can, runs her fingers through his hair making it messier than she has ever seen it.
“Good night, Sheldon.”
One more quick peck on the lips and she heads back to her own apartment. She doesn’t know how long she will have to wait, but she knows Sheldon will be worth it. She finally gets it now. When you know you’re with the right person, you can wait as long as you have to.
*
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” - Albert Einstein